DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Boosts Position in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 47.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,773 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,688 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in WestRock were worth $1,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in WestRock by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,619,872 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,440,053,000 after purchasing an additional 252,490 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in WestRock by 9.6% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 26,528,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $808,325,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320,073 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in WestRock by 14.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,986,307 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $348,442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538,825 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of WestRock by 59.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,318,827 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $283,947,000 after acquiring an additional 3,459,641 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of WestRock in the fourth quarter worth about $194,739,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

WestRock Price Performance

Shares of WestRock stock opened at $47.99 on Friday. WestRock has a 12 month low of $26.85 and a 12 month high of $49.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.03 and a 200 day moving average of $41.55.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.15). WestRock had a negative net margin of 8.58% and a positive return on equity of 6.87%. The company had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that WestRock will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.3025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -18.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WestRock

In other news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $149,695.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WRK. StockNews.com began coverage on WestRock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of WestRock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.40.

WestRock Profile

WestRock Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides fiber-based paper and packaging solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Corrugated Packaging, Consumer Packaging, Global Paper, and Distribution. The Corrugated Packaging segment produces containerboards, corrugated sheets, corrugated packaging, and preprinted linerboards to consumer and industrial products manufacturers, and corrugated box manufacturers.